Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from “strong buy” to “buy.” Broader analyst sentiment is more cautious, with five Buy and six Hold ratings producing a consensus “Hold” rating and a $606.11 target price.
• Murphy USA shares opened at $547.64, below the consensus target, with a 52-week range of $349.83 to $636.04.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting $11.27 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $9.95 estimate and $6.81 billion in revenue, up 36% year over year.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

MUSA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $619.00 to $612.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Murphy USA from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $547.64 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $529.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $546.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.29. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $349.83 and a 52 week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 34.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $339,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $857,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,143,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 2.6% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 826 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RHS Financial LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc operates a nationwide network of retail gasoline stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its stores sell branded and unbranded motor fuel, tobacco products, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other convenience items. Some locations also offer additional services such as lottery products and car washes.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, primarily in proximity to Walmart stores and along major roads.

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